CycleDog: (n) 1. An all-weather bicyclist, often regarded as one very sick puppy with a bad attitude. 2. A ankle-biting poodle with a Mohawk. (l)Canis
familiaris cyclus

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Insurance ad

Liberty Mutual, an insurance company, is running a double page ad in USAToday, with the tag line "Yes, there's an insurance company that's asresponsible as you are."

The first photo is a bicycle messenger with this text: "Doesn't believelunch hour means lunch hour and a half." The guy is dressed in messengergrunge, and he's wearing a helmet and gloves. But if you look closely, he'sriding what is presumably a track bike sans brakes.

Riding without brakes in traffic is a hazardous practice and it's surprisingthat an insurance company would run such a photo. I know, I know, there aretons of people who do it, but with the trendy popularity of fixed gears justnow, it seems irresponsible to promote brakeless riding. I ride a fixedgear regularly, using it to commute to work and back, and despite 30 yearsof fixed gear experience, I still have occasion to use the brake a few timeseach week. It may not be necessary to use it every time I have to stop, butit's good to have it when I need it.

I ran into a guy on one of the Freewheel training rides in the early spring.He's a bit older than me and he rides a vintage Schwinn Paramount track bikewithout brakes. He does it 'old school' style, with a pair of heavywelder's gloves that he uses to slow down. Like I said, I have a lot ofexperience on a fixed gear, but I'd still hesitate to try this, particularlyon a twitchy track bike.

No, I'm not going to email the insurance company and point out the glaringirony of that photo. It's likely someone will, though. Given my historywith insurance companies, it would only give them an excuse to raise my rates - again.